Slain Al-Qaida commander openly met Pak officials in Peshawar

Slain Al-Qaida commander openly met Pak officials in Peshawar-Pakistan-World-The Times of India: "Slain Al-Qaida commander openly met Pak officials in Peshawar
4 Feb 2008, 1711 hrs IST,PTI


ISLAMABAD: Top Al-Qaida commander Abu Laith al-Libi, killed last week in northwestern Pakistan, openly met Pakistani officials and a Libyan diplomat in Peshawar despite a USD 200,000 reward on his head, a media report said on Monday.

Libi's death in Pakistan was reported by Al Qaida-linked websites and it is believed he was among 12 militants who died in a missile strike carried out by an unmanned aerial vehicle on a house at Khushali Torikhel village in Pakistan's troubled North Waziristan tribal area on January 29.

The terrorist leader from Libya had lived in northwestern Pakistan for years and "felt secure enough to meet officials and visit hospitals" in Peshawar, the Washington Post quoted officials and residents of the city as saying.

As he organised suicide bombings and other attacks in Afghanistan, Libi "found a comfortable refuge in Pakistan's border region", the paper quoted sources as saying.

He "met openly with a Pakistani politician and a Libyan diplomat and called on foreign fighters recovering from their wounds".

The way in which Libi moved unchallenged around the heart of Peshawar, a city of 1.2 million people, underscored "how freely he and other Al-Qaida leaders have been able to operate in Pakistan", the report said.

On one occasion in 2006, Libi "strode into the central prison in Peshawar and another Libyan fighter sat behind bars in the custody of Pakistani authorities... the Al-Qaida leader, the Pakistani politician and the Libyan diplomat argued over whether the militant should be deported against his wishes to Libya or released to fight another day, said Javed Ibrahim Paracha, the PML-N leader who helped arrange the meeting.
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